Blue Raiders finish play at the Alabama Four in the Fall, Raquin advances to the singles qualifying draw at the ITA All-American Championships

Friday, September 29

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Middle Tennessee

Alabama Four in the Fall

10/1/2023 8:36:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Andrew Glover, MTSU Athletics Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Middle Tennessee men's tennis team completed play at the Alabama Four in the Fall in Tuscaloosa, Ala. and continued play at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

In the final day of the Alabama Four in the Fall, Karim Al-Amin and Shu Matsuoka won 6-3 against Tulane's Alec Gaudin and Sam Scherer. Al-Amin tallied a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Tulane's Gaudin. Igor Mandou Berranger defeated Evan Duggal of Louisville 6-4, 6-3. Kristian Thomas picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Louisville's Russell Lokko.

HEAD COACH JIMMY BORENDAME
"We have work to do."

ALABAMA FOUR IN THE FALL DOUBLES
Karim Al-Amin/Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) def. Alec Gaudin/Sam Scherer (TUL) 6-3
Evan Duggal/Russell Lokko (LOU) def. Igor Mandou Berranger/Kristian Thomas (MTSU) 7-6 (4)

ALABAMA FOUR IN THE FALL SINGLES
Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) def. Alec Gaudin (TUL) 6-2, 6-4
Sam Scherer (TUL) def. Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) 7-5, 6-2
Igor Mandou Berranger (MTSU) def. Evan Duggal (LOU) 6-4, 6-3
Kristian Thomas (MTSU) def. Russell Lokko (LOU) 6-3, 6-2

Marcel Kamrowski and Demis Taramonlis both earned a match in the back draw. Kamrowski won 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 against Furman's Elijah Poritzky. Taramonlis defeated Henry Ruger of Columbia 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

Leo Raquin picked up a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Drake's Markus Bolin. Ondrej Horak tallied a 7-5, 7-6 (4) win over Nebraska's Shunya Maruyama. Raquin advanced to the qualifying draw of the singles tournament by defeating Hugo Maia of Virginia Tech 6-3, 6-2.

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH ANDREA CALIGIANA
"Overall, it was a very good day. Leo is playing high level tennis and I'm amazed how he finds different ways to win points and matches. He took care of business very quickly which is very important in a tournament like this where you play lots of matches every day. Hopefully, this will help him tomorrow to be fresh and feel good physically. Ondrej had a match point to get into the qualifying draw as well but couldn't any closer to get the job done. I'm very proud of the battle he played. It was also very nice to see Marcel and Demis bouncing back getting wins in the consolation draw. Those are tough matches to play and keep the motivation up, but they handled their matches very well. I'm excited for doubles to start tomorrow."

ITA ALL-AMERICAN SINGLES
Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) def. Elijah Poritzky (Furman) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Demis Taramonlis (MTSU) def. Henry Rugar (Columbia) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Leo Raquin (MTSU) def. Markus Bolin (Drake) 6-2, 6-2
Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Shunya Maruyama (Nebraska) 7-5, 7-6 (4)
Leo Raquin (MTSU) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 6-3, 6-2
Togan Tokac (Texas A&M) def. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (1)

UP NEXT
The Blue Raiders will continue play in the ITA All-American Championships on Monday, Oct. 2 in Tulsa, Okla.

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